SAF rolls out new customisable vehicle to replace 5-tonners
SINGAPORE - The Singapore Armed Forces welcomed the latest locally-made vehicle to its arsenal on Friday, which will replace most of the army's five-tonne trucks.
Called the Belrex, it is meant to be used by the army's motorised infantry combat support and combat service support forces, hence the categorisation as a Protected Combat Support Vehicle (PCSV).
"The Belrex PCSV is more agile, versatile, offers stronger fire power, better protection, and greater situational awareness," said Second Minister for Defence Mr Ong Ye Kung, who commissioned the vehicle today (Nov 25) at the SAFTI Live Firing Area.
"With the Belrex platform, our infantry forces will be more effective, and can better adapt to the changing nature of the modern battlefield."
The Belrex PCSV can be modified in 10 different ways to fit mission requirements - a common modular design in modern military equipment.
The 10 variants are: Combat engineer, fuel, logistics, maintenance, medical, mortar, mortar ammunition carrier, security, signal, and reconnaissance.
With a maximum capacity of10 crew including the vehicle commander and driver, the Belrex PCSV can reach up to a maximum speed of 110km/h, with a range of 600km, and carry a payload of up to 4,000kg.
The 20-tonne vehicle will be equipped with a full suite of C4 systems (command, control, communications and computer) - a standard feature in the army's third generation assets.
Its weapon and armour complements include a 7.62mm Remote Machine Gun operated from the cabin, and small arms fire and mine protection.
The platform is a collaboration between the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and Singapore Technologies Kinetics (ST Kinetics).
The introduction of the Belrex PCSV is part of the army's motorisation and Third Generation transformation efforts, which follows the introduction of other assets such as the Peacekeeper Protected Response Vehicle and the Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicle.
(AsiaOne)